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10 Reasons Why You Should Apply the Bible to Your Life

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  1. To scoff at death and evil and to find the truly good life (Deut 30:16-20).The Holy Bible
  2. To bear fruit all year long and never have to rake leaves (Psalm 1:1-6).
  3. To get to go on the Lord’s camping trip (Psalm 15:1-2).
  4. To gain the sweetest treasure (Psalm 19:7-11).
  5. To get good flood insurance (Matthew 7:24-27).
  6. To be the one God brags about to all his friends (Eph 2:4-10).
  7. To remember what you should look like (James 1:23-24).
  8. To get to share all the good stuff with God’s people (3 John 5-8).
  9. To prove that God really does love you (Rev 3:19).
  10. Because everybody else is doing it (Rev 7:9-10, 13-14; 14:1-5, 19:6-8).

It’s worth it.

Not to mention the opportunity to fulfill your purpose in life by bringing glory to the only Lord who is worthy of all praise (1 Cor 10:31).

What other reasons can you think of?

The Greatest Enemy of Application is Insight

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Application happens when we understand the meaning of a Bible passage (i.e. we see Jesus and our need for him) and conform our lives to it.  This conformity to Christ is the great purpose of God from the foundation of the world (Rom 8:29).

But the chief obstacle to vigorous application is insight.  As we gain more insight into the Bible, we become more prone to revel in the insight itself and not in the life-change that ought to result from that insight.

"Debate Sobre" by Secom Bahia (2010), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution License

“Debate Sobre” by Secom Bahia (2010), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution License

For example, have you ever read a verse like Romans 8:29 (which I referenced above) and turned it into a theological debate?  What does this verse mean about the predestination/free will controversy?  Which side is right?  Who has the best insight into what Paul meant by the word “foreknew”?

I’m prone to feel good about myself if I can answer these questions.  I really want to win such debates.  I’ve invested much time fighting my way through them.

But the chief question shouldn’t be whether predestination or free will is right.  The chief question is: How is my life becoming more and more conformed to Christ?  It doesn’t matter which side of the debate I fall on; God’s purpose in my life remains the same.  What must change in order for me to be more like Jesus, so he can have pre-eminence as the first-born?

Insight can get in the way of application in other ways too.  Have you ever felt disappointed after reading the Bible because nothing new and fantastic had occurred to you?

In contrast, have you ever felt the warmth splash over your heart when you see something you’ve never seen before in God’s Word?  Maybe you found an allusion to another Bible passage that wasn’t immediately obvious.  Perhaps a repeated word or idea became clear.  Maybe you felt like you could relate to a Bible character due to some recent experience of your own.  Perhaps you just started to get the hang of this OIA stuff, and you’re amazed at the beauty and joy that results when you can find an author’s main point.

Such insight into the Bible can be invigorating, but don’t let it distract you.  The task isn’t complete until you change.  Keep moving forward into Application.

Jesus warned us of the danger of insight when he used the image of architecture (Matt 7:24-27).  The one who hears the Word, and stops there (possibly rejoicing in his keen insight), is like a foolish builder constructing a beach hut in a hurricane zone.  The wise builder is the one who hears the Word and does it.

What other hindrances to Application can you think of?

The Transition from Interpretation to Application

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To study the Bible, we ought to observe, interpret, and apply. We must first see what the passage says before we can figure out what it means. Once we know what it means, we’re ready to conform our lives to God’s will.

Sometimes we stop with interpretation and never go ahead to application. Jesus said we’re in danger of flash flooding (Matt 7:24-27).

At other times, we’re quick to change, but we apply the wrong things (we haven’t interpreted carefully). Jesus said we’re in danger of missing the point (Matt 23:23-24).

How can we succeed at transitioning from Interpretation to Application? Here are 2 tips to help you build a good bridge.

"Bridge" by Umair Mohsin (2007), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution license

“Bridge” by Umair Mohsin (2007), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution license

Tip #1: Work from the main point

It’s important to understand the main point of a passage before beginning to apply it.  Working from the main point gives your application some teeth, since it focuses you on what God considers most important.  Such application is both effective and satisfying.

Note: If you’re in the Old Testament, there’s an extra step. Once you’ve determined the author’s main point, remember to connect the passage to Jesus before launching into application.

Tip #2: Ask good “So What?” questions

During the Interpretation stage, we asked lots of questions. The main types are What? Why? and So What? That third type of question can be the most difficult, but it provides the bridge between Interpretation and Application.

Let’s demonstrate this transition as we continue our study of Luke 2:1-21.

We determined the main point to be: “God sent Jesus to be born so he might save the lowly and rule them graciously. This brings him highest glory.” Now we ask, “So what?”

So what difference does Jesus’ birth make? The lowly can be saved. Their new King is a gracious King.

So what kind of people will be saved? Lowly people.

So what brings God highest glory? Saving and ruling the lowly. Humbling the great and mighty of the earth.

So what kind of person am I if Jesus has saved me? I have not done anything to earn my salvation. I am simply one more example of God using the weak to shame the strong. I am a lowly servant with a great and gracious King.

So what should I expect the Christian life to be like? Since God is in the business of glorifying himself by saving the lowly, he will constantly deepen my understanding of my lowliness and his greatness. This process might be painful, but it will generate a lifestyle of praise and thankfulness. It’s nothing less than what Jesus experienced in his birth and life.

We’ve built our bridge, and we’re now ready to apply the passage more specifically. Over the next few weeks I’ll unpack how to do this Application effectively.

The Second Result of Listening

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When we listen to wisdom, we’ll keep becoming wiser.  What does it look like for us to walk this path?  Here are some ideas:

  • Ask God for wisdom every day.  No, scratch that; make it every hour.
  • In every situation, ask yourself, “What can I learn here?”
  • Learn how to study the Bible.  (Here’s some help.  And more help.)  Meet regularly with others to discuss it.
  • Ask other people how they think you could grow.
  • Read a chapter of Proverbs every day.  That way, you’ll cover the whole book each month.  I did this for years and developed a notebook of topics.  I picked one topic each month, and every day I’d write down which verses addressed that topic.  This notebook became a useful resource that I still use.

If wisdom has entered your heart, and the fear of the Lord characterizes you, then you will love instruction.  In particular, you will love God’s instruction, which means you’ll draw steadily closer to him.  Don’t let your life slip by without careful attention.

Image-Jonathan_EdwardsBy the time he turned 21, American theologian Jonathan Edwards had written 70 personal commitments (he called them “resolutions”) for his walk with Christ.  They included things like speaking words that build up, managing his time well, and being a trustworthy person.  Most noteworthy is his commitment to consciously trust in Jesus, especially when he felt on top of the world.  Item #53 states:

“Resolved, to improve every opportunity, when I am in the best and happiest frame of mind, to cast and venture my soul on the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust and confide in him, and consecrate myself wholly to him; that from this I may have assurance of my safety, knowing that I confide in my Redeemer.”

At the top, right before the first item on the list, he wrote this statement: “Remember to read over these Resolutions once a week.”  Here was a man who understood his natural tendency to drift from the path of wisdom and who set himself to give careful attention that he might not do so.

To summarize where we are in the argument of Prov 2:1-10: If you persevere at listening carefully to wisdom, you will grow to love wisdom.  Your proud, selfish heart will melt, liberating you to make different choices every day.  You’ll be heading in the right direction, growing closer to Jesus and becoming more like him.

We Love Being Simple, Part 2

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Yesterday, we saw that we love being simple.  Today I’ll tell you what this has looked like for me.

I’m not very handy, partly because I grew up in a family that never owned a home.  Whenever something broke, we’d call the landlords.  My wife, however, grew up on a 9-acre lot in rural Pennsylvania.  They never saw an improvement they didn’t like.

So when we got married, Erin had to persuade me to become a homeowner.  She succeeded, and my life has lacked a comfort zone ever since.  You see, I’m terrified of the unknown.  When we bought our first home, fear gripped my heart so completely that when I went to unpack my office, I didn’t even know what to do.  I looked around at all the boxes and got so depressed and overwhelmed by the whole thing that I just lay down on the couch and did nothing.  When Erin came downstairs from her own unpacking and saw me lying there, she didn’t buy my excuse that “I didn’t know what to do.”  She pointed to a box, said “How ‘bout we start with this one?” and began removing its contents.

The problem was not my upbringing, nor was it my personal preferences.  The problem was that I loved being simple.  I had never owned or maintained a home, I didn’t want to keep up a home, and I didn’t want to learn how to keep up a home.  And I didn’t make those choices based on careful study of Scripture accompanied by Spirit-driven meditation.  It’s not that I conscientiously believed renting a home would honor Christ more than owning a home would.  No, I simply didn’t want to change.  I didn’t want the increased responsibility.

In the end, however, the Bible is not primarily concerned with whether I buy or rent a home.  The main thing God wants is for me to trust in Christ and not myself.  Whoever believes in Jesus “is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18, ESV).  Jesus promised to pour out his Spirit on all who believe in him (John 7:37-39).  Do you believe?  Will you trust Jesus?

How’d You Do That? (9/16/12)

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From time to time we like to “show our work” and explain what principles drive our Bible study.

In Sunday’s post, we examined Proverbs 1:10, ESV (“My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent”) and saw how the Bible commands us to reject easy money.  Here’s how we got there.

Observation

By observing the grammar of the verse, we noticed that the main sentence is a command: “Do not consent.”  Also, we observed the words: the thing we ought not consent to is enticement from sinners.

Interpretation

In my study, I started with a question: what is the enticement from sinners that we ought not consent to?  Is it just anything, or does Solomon have something specific in mind?

Answering that question led me to observe the whole section (Prov 1:10-19) in its context.  This examination led me to observe the final verse (Prov 1:19), which makes clear that the chief enticement Solomon has in mind is toward “unjust gain.”

What is “unjust gain”?  Acquiring money or possessions through any unlawful means.  Since most of the section describes a gang recruiting someone to violence against another person, it would appear that Solomon considers “unjust” any means of gaining money that will hurt other people.

Thus, my conclusion of the main idea: “the pursuit of a quick buck, at the cost of serving others, will always keep us from being wise.”

Application

From here, we merely had to consider what it looks like in our generation to gain more money at the cost of serving others.

The chief heart application is that we allow ourselves to be sucked into money-making schemes (like going into more credit card debt, getting a new car like the neighbor’s, or spending too much time at the office).

By way of head application, we must know which things will tempt us, and we must choose in advance to watch out for them.

For hands application, we should make different choices when the temptation comes.  We should reject easy money.

See here for an explanation of these three types of application.

 

My hope in walking through this process is that you will be able to duplicate it in your own study of the Bible!

Summary of the OIA Method

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"Open Bible" by Ryk Neethling (2011), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution License

Ryk Neethling (2011), Creative Commons

I’ve argued that everyone has a Bible study method, whether conscious or unconscious.  So here’s mine.

The acronym OIA summarizes the method:

  1. Observation – what does it say?
  2. Interpretation – what does it mean?
  3. Application – how do I need to change?

You can restate these three steps as what? why? and so what?  Or again, as what did the original author say?  What did that mean to the original audience?  And what does it mean in our context?

Knowable Word did not invent this method.  It’s an old, old method.  Seminaries call it the “historical-grammatical method of Bible interpretation,” but that title can be big and scary to most people.  Some more popular treatments call it the “inductive Bible study method,” but I think that’s an unfortunate misuse of the wonderful term “inductive” from the realm of logic.  So I prefer to call it simply “OIA.”

The wonder of the OIA method is that it allows the text to speak to us, rather than reading our own meaning into the text.  The beauty of the OIA method is that it can be taught at seminary and get very, very deep, or it can be taught to the youngest children, enabling them as well to know the Lord in his Word.

I’ve explained the method in more detail in other posts, but for this summary, note what happens if we miss any part of it.

If we neglect good observation of what the text says, we have no true foundation upon which to know Christ.  We have great intentions, but in all the wrong directions.  We’re the people who failed to observe which weekend was the daylight savings time switch, and we show up to church an hour off from everyone else.  An example of poor observation of Scripture is found in Luke 24:25-27.

If we neglect good interpretation of what the text means, we might not know whether what we believe or do is biblical or not.  We might be honoring the Lord, or we might not be.  We won’t be certain until we meet him face to face.  A good example of poor interpretation of Scripture is found in Mark 12:24.

If we neglect good application of how we ought to change, we are like foolish builders founding a home upon sand.  We are to be pitied.  We give lip service to Christ, but our hearts are far from him (Matthew 15:8-9).  God wants to make us more like Jesus (Rom 8:29), and he won’t rest until his Word accomplishes that purpose (Isaiah 55:10-11).

For much more detail on the OIA method see my How to Study the Bible series of posts.

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How’d You Do That? (7/31/12)

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On Monday and Tuesday, we examined Solomon’s third purpose for writing the book of Proverbs and sought to apply it.  How did I get to those specific applications?

Whenever we study a passage of the Bible, I find it helpful to think in the three categories of Head, Hands, and Heart.  Each of these categories represents a way in which I can respond to a text.

Head applications identify ways I need to believe what is true.  They help me to identify false beliefs so I can repent of them and choose to adopt God’s perspective.  Examples are “God is more powerful than my enemies,” “Jesus is God and became a man to die for my sins,” or “God wants his people to be part of a church.”

Hands applications identify ways I can act upon what is true.  They help me to identify ungodly behaviors so I can repent of them and live in obedience to God’s will.  Examples are “I shouldn’t gossip about or attack my enemies,” “I can take steps to get to know my neighbors better and reach out to them,” or “I should join a good church and get involved in the community there.”

Heart application identify ways I must become more like Jesus.  They help me to identify wicked or foolish desires so I can repent of them and develop more Christ-like character.  Examples are “I must love my enemies as Christ did for me,” “I can trust other people because Jesus knows what it’s like to be misunderstood,” or “I must stop trusting in myself and instead find ways to serve others.”

The first three purposes of Proverbs correspond to these three areas.  Solomon wants us to know wisdom (head), do it (hands), and always improve at both knowing and doing (heart).

When you read and study the Bible, are you growing in all three areas?

Don’t fall into the trap of overly theological (head), ethical (hands), or pietistic (heart) reading of Scripture.  Keep a good balance of all three, and see how much God will do in your life through his Knowable Word!

And don’t feel like you have rely on yourself alone to grow as a Christian.  Join a Bible study, or get more involved at your church!  Others can help you in all three areas in ways you never expected.